Don’t write winter’s obituary yet — we may be in for more blasts of snow before spring

Canada's spring 2013 forecast: cooler West, warmer East

In comparison to the sudden arrival of summer-like weather last year, the transition in 2013 should be a lot more gradual. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Last year we got a summer that came in a thud and it got us into a lot of problems,” said Environment Canada’s senior climatologist David Phillips. “Like frost destroying apple, vegetable and other fruit crops.”

Phillips said that although we might want weather that permits us to lounge on patios with a cold drink, a slow-motion warm up is better for the environment.

“You don’t want too much melting going on without some freezing to move it out slowly,” he said. “You don’t want flooding.”

Last year we got a summer that came in a thud and it got us into a lot of problems